Former India players 'surprised' at Gautam Gambhir's exclusion

New Delhi: Former India opener and chairman of DDCA selection committee Chetan Chauhan expressed his "shock and disappointment" at the exclusion of senior opener Gautam Gambhir from the 30-member probables list for the World T20 in Bangladesh.

"I am surprised and shocked that Gautam is not there in the 30-member list. You want to tell me that the guy is so bad that he is not among the top-30 T20 players in the country. I would like to know the logic behind such a selection. Look at his performance for India in T20. If I am not wrong, he is still the highest run-getter for India in this format," an angry Chauhan told PTI on Friday.

Gambhir has 932 runs in 37 T20 matches with seven 50's, which is highest among the Indian batsmen followed by Yuvraj Singh (868 runs), Suresh Raina (859 runs) and Mahendra Singh Dhoni (772 runs).

Chauhan, a veteran of 40 Test matches and a former national selector feels that one needs to have a clear-cut policy regarding the selection process.

"I am sad to say there has to be a proper policy for selection. While I am happy that our boys Rajat (Bhatia) and Unmukt (Chand) are in the probables, there is no denying that I am deeply hurt by Gautam's exclusion. This year's IPL would be crucial and I believe, he will score a lot of runs. He has not done badly in Ranji Trophy," Chauhan said.

Former India all-rounder and Delhi captain Madan Lal said that Gambhir has had "much better performance than some in that list".

"It is surprising and disappointing that a player of Gambhir's calibre has not been included in the 30 member squad. There are lot of players who have not performed like Gambhir and they are still there in that list," the hero of the 1983 World Cup win said.

DDCA president Sneh Bansal said that he will "informally speak" to the president N Srinivasan about Gambhir's non-inclusion.

"These are selection matters and I will personally have a word with the BCCI president as to why Gambhir's name is not there in the list. I am going to Chennai on the 22nd for the Emergent Meeting," Bansal said.